PANAJI
The Bombay High Court at Goa on Tuesday disposed off a petition filed by one Hondu Vithal Gaonkar who approached the Court against the Goa Tamnar Transmission Project Ltd, with a direction to the petitioner to take up the matter before the district magistrate.
Gaonkar has resisted the company from using his land under the Indian Telegraph Act which gives the ‘telegraph authority’ powers to “from time to time, place and maintain a telegraph line under, over, along or across, and posts in or upon, any immovable property.”
“Now that the Petitioner has already objected, resisted, and obstructed the exercise of powers in Section 10, the Magistrate will have to decide whether the Telegraph Authority should be permitted to exercise that despite such objections/resistance or obstruction,” the High Court bench of Justices M S Sonak and Valmiki Sa Menezes ruled.
“The Magistrate will hear the Petitioner on 15.12.2023 at 3 pm. Accordingly, the Petitioner will have to remain present for this hearing without insisting upon any separate notice. If the Petitioner wishes to file written objections, he is granted leave to do so. The Magistrate will then have to decide the matter in terms of Section 16 of the said Act and communicate the decision to the Petitioner within 15 days from the passing of the Order,” the High Court also said.
The High Court, however, ruled that all contentions of all parties “even the questions of constitutional validity are left open.”
